Catbird Griddle

2011-11-07T18:55:00.002-05:00

THANK YOU TO ALL OF OUR WONDERFUL
CATBIRD CUSTOMERS OF 2011

SEE YOU WHEN THE WORLD TURNS
GREEN AGAIN

Where's Bubba?

2011-10-03T16:18:00.002-04:00

The Sunshine Vegetables

2011-08-24T20:46:00.002-04:00

Fresh corn, roasted yellow crookneck squash, carrots, yellow beans, yellow beets, and baby scallions make up the the ingredients in The Sunshine Supper. August's gardens offer up just the absolute best flavors of all and this one is delicious, served over rice with all these light vegetables and topped with a rich cheesey sauce.

We have an outstanding eggplant crop this year, so this week we've also made wonderful Ratatouille and Eggplant Parmesan dinners. The new Shepherd's Pie dinner is made with Vandemark Farm grass fed beef, creamed greens, and topped with mashed Yukon Gold potatoes.

We grow all the vegetables for these dinners on our farm in Angelica, NY. Our garden ground has been carefully tended without the use of chemical fertilizers, herbicides, or pesticides for over 35 years. Our gardens are steps away from our certified kitchen where we turn freshly picked produce into dinners and soups ready to eat for you and your family.

All our dinners are available for purchase at both the Angelica Farmers' Market on Saturdays 10-2 and at the Belmont Farmers' Market, Thursdays 11-2.

New Catbird Dinners

2011-08-01T15:30:00.005-04:00

If every US citizen ate just one meal a week composed of locally raised meats and produce, we would reduce our country's oil consumption by over 1.1 million barrels of oil every week. The Catbird Griddle can help with this!

We have terrific food producers around here...Vandemark Farms Vegetables and Grass Fed Beef, Wilson's Beef Farms, Friendship Dairy, Polly O Mozzarella, Cuba Cheese, Southern Tier Brewery, Angelica Winery...just to name a few. We can help you do your part by producing and selling frozen dinners which contain only foods grown and produced locally. Our dinners are delicious, reasonably priced and of course, homegrown and homemade!

Our new dinners are the Jumbo Pork Chop Dinner with roasted Yukon Gold potatoes, and green and yellow beans in brown gravy. Then we have the Catbird Oven Fried Chicken Dinner, pictured above, with baked beans, or pan fried Yukon Golds, and roasted vegetables just picked from our gardens. We have new soups this week too; our 6 Vegetable Soup, Sunshine Soup, and Bean n' Bacon Soup.

These in addition to all the dinners you'll find described on the blog's Frozen Take Home Dinner page. All our dinners are available at The Belmont Farmers' Market on Thursdays 11-2, and at the Angelica Farmers' Market Saturdays 10-2. Come see us for dinners ready to heat and eat.

Do you have...

2011-07-17T16:58:00.003-04:00

Someone special? When you were growing up, was there someone outside your immediate family who connected with you and stayed connected? Then when you got old enough to not take them for granted, they were still connected and you really liked that.

The aunts and uncles of our worlds sometimes guide us as strongly as our own parents. They are often that someone who's ways suited us; or who you found yourself emulating to your benefit. They'd hold out a hand to help you up. Show you how to laugh and cope. Look around. You have that person. I have several. One has passed away after a good long life.

The Catbird Griddle will not open in Angelica this Saturday the 23rd of July and will not open in Belmont next Thursday the 28th of July. My entire family will attend the memorial service of a funny, lovely, supportive role model and hang out together for a few days remembering her.

The Granary

2011-07-10T22:23:00.003-04:00

Most people don’t know that we have a farm guest cottage that we rent out as a vacation house. “The Granary” is just that, formerly our farm’s grain building for 100+ years, we cleaned it out and moved it a few years ago and now it’s a fun spot for families or friends looking for a place to relax on a working farm. Guests wander the land, swim in the creek, and enjoy Angelica, which is pretty spruced up these days with 6 antique stores, a good restaurant with live music, and the Saturday Farmers’ Market.

The sleeping porch looks out over our lower fields and woods, which are usually very misty in the morning. There’s a curtained off sleeping area inside too, and a sitting area and kitchen with counters built of wood we cut off this land. There’s an indoor bathroom and an enclosed outdoor shower. Then there’s the loft for kids with a ladder to climb up inside, and one that lets them escape outside too. We left the walls inside the original wood, so it’s rustic looking but the WiFi reception is good for staying in touch.

We’ve let the area around the Granary grow up in wild flowers except for in the large fence yard perfect for pooches, and we also mow an area that has a campfire site and tent site nearby. It’s a little charmer so we thought our Catbird Griddle friends should know about it. It’s listed on vrbo.com and flipkey.com

Lavender Festival

2011-06-28T08:44:00.005-04:00

Lavender, the sweet clean fragrance of Southern France, does not like a wet climate. Provence is a hot dry place where limestone outcroppings are common. But, Yardley seemed to do well with their wonderful British soap and Lavender fields became common in modern England.

Then the plant breeders went to work and created Lavender that will grow even in the colder wet climates. “Dilly” lavender survives most all the weather western NY can throw at it.

Of course, it took California to come up with modern ways to savor lavender in the culinary arts, though the ancient Greeks and others used lavender for cooking and medicines. By the way, the French in Provence are still scratching their heads over ‘culinary lavender’, but there too this concept is catching on.

This weekend is Angelica’s 4^th Lavender Festival. Saturday from 10 til 4, the Catbird Griddle will put this culinary delight to good use. Try a touch of lavender sprinkled on top of the whipped cream served with fresh blueberries on our pancakes. You’ll like our Lavender Chicken Salad, and our scrumptious Frosted Lavender Lemon Cake. You can take home an Apricot Lavender Chicken Dinner or a Sweet and Sour Lavender Chicken Dinner. Our Frozen Take Home Dinners are fresh frozen with local meats and vegetables. These frozen chicken dinners are…sauced local chicken, fresh garden vegetables from our gardens served over rice or pasta. Saturday we’ll also be serving Lavender Lemonade, as we always do.

No, it’s not Provence. It’s Angelica!….and it’s time for the Lavender Festival.

Vandemark Grass Fed Beef

2011-06-08T09:16:00.006-04:00

Have you ever had a meal made at home? Of course you have....but I mean really "made" at home, as in the ingredients produced where you live; beef raised up the road, sweet corn, new potatoes, tangy tomatoes and herbs cut and cooked up into dinners that morning? This is the intent of Catbird Griddle's Frozen Take Home Dinners, to bring local foods to our local community - locally grown, freshly prepared into tasty nutritious dinners, frozen, and available for you to take home to your family. Put your dinner in the microwave for a few minutes while you let the dog out, read the mail, or have a glass of wine...and your dinner is ready to eat.

We grow all our vegetables without the assistance of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, or herbicides. The meats we bring you have always been hormone free and responsibly raised. Now we are very happy to be able to offer truly local...

Grass Fed Beef from Vandemark Farm, Scio, NY.

The Vandemark farmers, Dan Sprung and Halle Reed moved to Scio 8 years ago and have continued to try and make the farm pay for itself. The Grass Fed Beef operation has evolved from their organic grass and abundant untiled acreage. The land had been used by The Snyder Family (of organic dairy fame in Alfred, NY) for the previous 6 years. The cows also enjoy Vandemark's two largest cash crops; corn and pumpkins.

Telling their story, Halle and Dan emphasize that "there are no chemicals, drugs or purchased grains fed to the cows. Any corn that is fed to them as a treat or 'finisher' is also from the farm".

In the winter, the cattle are fed hay that has been cut from the farm. Halle says "there is a down side to this process. Early on we had some calves die becuase we were not willing to chemically enhance their mother's prenatel and birthing process. We have since culled our herd and have naturally sturdy Moms".

Vandemark Grass Fed Beef is not only delicious, but healthy, safe and humane. Vandemark Farm is committed to the slow, safe and humane growth of this part of their farm business. The beef is a great economic choice for them, because the value of hand-raised, grass-fed beef equals the many hours of effort put into them. As an ethical choice, they themselves do not eat anything else. They have raised all of the mother cows. They have their steers processed at a local USDA processor and usually sell any extra heifers to small farms.

Congratulations to Dan and Halle for their efforts and we welcome the opportunity to offer their meats as part of our dinner menus.

Local Frozen Dinners Starting Up May 19

2011-05-11T09:41:00.021-04:00

Cream of Parsnip Soup is the center of this light dinner $3 container serves two
Catbird Frozen take home soups and dinners will be on sale beginning Thursday May 19th at the Belmont NY Farmers' Market, Rt 19. We will be serving our garden and specialty salads along with our homegrown/homemade frozen dinners and soups from 11-2 every Thursday in Belmont and at the Angelica Farmers' Market Saturdays 10-2. The Angelica Market starts up Saturday June 25.

More dinners and soups will be added each week as foods come into season in our gardens. Meats are produced locally, hormone free.

Stalking the Wild Leek

2011-04-19T10:55:00.006-04:00

Wild leeks make their first appearance shortly after snowmelt and flourish in hardwood forests the length of the Appalachian Mountains. Angelica, being in the southern tier of western NY state, is a part of the Appalachian Region, sitting in the lowland foothills of those ancient mountains. Here the wild leeks grow prolifically. Several of the local schools around here need rules forbidding coming to school having eaten raw leeks. You can imagine what fun pubescent boys have had over the centuries trying to subtly cause an olfactory stir in class, maybe getting the attention of that pretty girl.

In this early spring time they are a sweet garlicy onion treat we know and love. Right now the leeks are quite young and small, as you can see in the close up above. We harvested small leeks this morning and we'll be harvesting leeks for the next two weeks, steaming them and adding them to our frozen take home dinners like our ham, leek and mashed potato dinner. This and our other frozen take home dinners will be available soon and until we close in the fall; all made from our homegrown vegetables and meats locally raised here in Allegany County.

Tonight we have some good friends coming to a discussion group at our house. For a snack we'll make a leek pesto crostini with lightly steamed leeks (1 cup), olive oil (1/2 cup), nuts of choice (1/2 cup), Parmesan (1/2 cup), 2 cloves of garlic, and the juice of 1/2 a lemon, spun together in the food processor and spread over pieces of my husband's homemade whole wheat bread and toasted in the oven, maybe a small square of local cheddar on top of some of them.

Tomorrow we're also having friends over, this time for dinner, including our doctor. You plan the menu carefully when the man who prescribes your statin is coming to dinner. For the appetizer for that meal, I'll be making a leek humus with chick peas (1 cup), the steamed whole leeks (1 cup), one whole orange peeled, tahini (1/4 cup), the juice of 1/2 a lemon, and a tsp of Cajun or plain salt all spun together. We'll serve dried apples alongside for dipping. A mild flavored cracker would do equally as well. This one combines the joy of the faint sweetness in the leeks with the mild citrus orange but with the onion background smoothed out by the tahini and mild flavor of the beans.
So take a walk in the woods this week. You might discover some delightful fresh food to take home for supper. Oh, and maybe download Euell Gibbons' book Stalking the Wild Asparagus, the bible of wild edible foods.

We're Building Our Own Food Truck

2011-04-12T09:20:00.008-04:00

Pancakes with hot buttered maple syrup and fresh fruit al fresco under the old maples in our town circle. This is a bit of heaven for us and for our customers. What our customers don't know is that it takes 7-8 man hours to set up our outdoor kitchen each week at our farmers' market. That was always a problem, but not any more.

This year we looked into buying a food truck but they cost tens of thousands of dollars and none were even what we wanted. SO, we let our genius neighbor/contractor/friend loose on our landscape equipment trailer.

We designed and he built a cooking/serving space with everything we need and not one inch devoted to what we do not need. All the prep and serving counters fold out leaving 10'x6' of space for us to prep, cook and serve pancakes, salads, grilled chicken and vegetables, and sell our frozen take home dinners.

It's still under construction but here are the first pics of our new baby. We thought you'd be amused.

top o' the mornin' to ya

2011-03-12T10:52:00.002-05:00

Irish salutation usually accompanied by the opening of a bottle of Killian's.

Want to celebrate? Let's get traditional. While our follower base is still small I'm going to leak a secret family recipe, not my family's actually but a good friend's with a direct connection to the homeland.

Listen up for "Irish Cream Liqueur"
1 3/4 cup liquor (Irish Whiskey, Brandy, Rum, Bourbon, Scotch, or Rye Whiskey)
1 (14oz) can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup whipping or light cream
4 eggs (can use substitute)
2 tbs chocolate syrup
2 tsp instant coffee
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract

Combine all ingredients in a blender at low speed. Serve over ice if desired. Store tightly covered in refrigerator up to one month. Serve alone or after Corned Beef and Cabbage…and Irish Soda Bread of course, or how about the even more traditional -

Irish Stew

3 lbs lamb cubed
1/2 cup flour
1/4 - 1/2 cup oil
2 large onions
3 large carrots
6 stalks celery cut into 1/2 nice slices
12 oz Guinness Stout
4 cloves garlic crushed/minced
3 large potatoes
6 sprigs fresh rosemary
6 sprigs thyme (can use dried if necessary on the herbs)
2 qts lamb or beef stock
1/2 cup whole barley
1 cup chopped fresh parsley
salt and pepper to taste

Coat meat pieces with flour/salt/pepper and brown in oil in a large sturdy cooking pot. Add onions chopped, carrots and celery cut in hunks and saute until onions are transparent. Add garlic and Guinness and cook one more minute stirring all the while (can add some of stock when mixture gets too sticky).

Add cup up potatoes and whole barley and enough stock to cover all ingredients. Stir everything together adding rosemary and thyme and bring to boiling while stirring. Then reduce heat to low and simmer at least 2 hours, stirring occasionally and adding stock if necessary until meat is tender.

Check seasoning, stir in fresh parsley and serve in big bowls with Irish Soda Bread and more Guinness.

Of course, after sautéing the meat and vegetables, you COULD do the whole thing in the microwave but a leprechaun might just pop in your window and start smashing things up so be careful. (Leprechauns usually take the form of a small old man in a red or green waistcoat).

Happy St Patty's Day to you all!

Just. Plant. Something.

2011-03-07T10:47:00.003-05:00

Dateline: Rural Oregon…"The Grange master, Hank Keogh, is a 26-year-old who, with his multiple piercings and severe sideburns, looks more indie rock star than seed farmer. Mr. Keogh took over the Grange two years ago."

He increased membership by signing up dozens of young farmers and others in the region. He had the floorboards refinished, introduced weekly yoga classes and reduced the average age of Grange members to 35 from 65.”

It’s true. All over America young people are abandoning their urban jobs, or their fruitless job searches and reclaiming farming, often with the mentoring help of grandparents.

The demand for good fresh food, that has not been in shipment for 2 weeks, has once again made small farming desirable in the USA.

Here in Allegany County, NY we are well positioned for this trend. We have land. We have grandparent mentors! We have cheap old machinery around. We have agricultural courses at Alfred State College and heavy equipment courses at BOCES. We even have a steady stream of visitors from Rochester and Buffalo who love to come to our county and see what’s going on or stay in their hunting camps and vacation hide outs.

“Garry Stephenson, coordinator of the Small Farms Program at Oregon State University, said he had not seen so much interest among young people in decades. “It’s kind of exciting,” Mr. Stephenson said. “They’re young, they’re energetic and idealist, and they’re willing to make the sacrifices.”

If you come out to Farmers’ Markets in Allegany County this summer you’ll see some of them…or better yet…just. plant. something. Most farmers’ markets have a fee for participating in an individual market. Angelica’s fee was $12/day or $30 for a festival day last year ($150 for the season). Belmont’s market was just $6 last season. How much will you make? Well, we say at the Angelica Market...on a festival weekend Saturday if you don’t make at least $1000, you didn’t come prepared.

Quotes from In “New Food Culture, a Young Generation of Farmers Emerges”

By ISOLDE RAFTERY New York Times, March 5, 2011

Hurry! The Sap Is Running!

2011-02-15T10:36:00.010-05:00

You may not have believed Punxsutawney Phil earlier this month when he predicted an early spring. But when you get three nice days in a row with daytime temperatures above freezing, you can be sure the sap will begin to run in the maple trees in the northeastern USA and Canada. That time will soon be upon us.

Though an extended cool early spring is painful for those awaiting heat, it is prime for syrup producers. Highs in the 30's or 40's (F) and night time temps that drop below freezing are ideal to keep the sap flowing. As soon as the temperatures really warm up and the Maples bud, it's all over.

Boiling down syrup takes patience. 40 gallons of sap boils down to 1 (that's one) gallon of syrup on average. Much fancy equipment is needed to produce large quantities of syrup, but you can make syrup in your back yard if you have even one good sized sugar maple tree and a kid or 2 to make a memory with.

At any hardware store worth it's weight, you can buy sap taps and buckets with lids, and a candy thermometer for checking your final product. You'll need an auger to drill a hole in the tree at shoulder height. The taps just push in to the hole with a light tap of a hammer, and have a hook to hang the bucket. Put a lid on it, so no rainwater or bird poop gets in. If you can wrap you arms around your tree, it can take 1-2 buckets. If it takes 2 people to hug your tree, you can place 3-4 taps. Do not tap trees less than about 12" in diameter.

Now you need a load of firewood and a fire pit in the backyard. Jerry-rig a stand strong enough to hold a big strong pot. If you can dig up some scraps of sheet metal and lean them against the sides of the fire, you can concentrate your fire's heat
and also keep from torching your arm hair. Kids love having a fire going, so keep a supply of hot dogs and marshmellows on hand for spring's earliest wiener roast or "snow picnic" as we used to call them.

You'll boil sap all day. When it gets some thickness and some color to it you can finish it off in your kitchen. If you prefer your syrup lighter - or "amber" rather than "dark", you can remove the 'impurities' by beating an egg with a little milk and stir this mixture into the hot 'almost syrup'. The egg/dairy mix will capture the impurities and boil them to the surface. You simply skim all the yuck off with a spoon. Then use your candy thermometer to determine when the syrup is finished. Pour into clean canning jars, screw on lids and store in a dark cupboard. They will self seal.

Do not try to make syrup from sap in your kitchen unless you have a VERY small amount of sap. It creates much too much humidity and may convince your wallpaper to fall off your walls.

The first run of sap is the sweetest and therefore takes the least amount of boiling time. So prepare early and be ready. You can tap early, you just won't get a run of sap until the tree is good and ready to give it to you.

Yes the ice and snow will still be all around. We'll all be proclaiming Phil wrong once again, but you and your kids, like all syrup producers, will be in on the big secret... It's spring!

In Allegany County NY we're lucky to have Cartwrights' Maple Tree Inn in Angelica just up off the Short Tract Road. They are only open Feb 10 - April 10 and make their own syrup on the premises. Needless to say, crowds come from miles around.

Of course, pancakes with hot buttered maple syrup will be available at the Catbird Griddle pancake stand first at the Main Street in May Festival in Angelica May 7th and at Community Lawn Sales May 14

Then at the Angelica Farmers' Market every summer Saturday starting June 25, 10-2

2010-10-31T09:04:00.004-04:00

Sunset time in the Gardens. Time to take down and put away our wonderful 60' growing tunnels that have given us fresh tomatoes, peppers and basil right up til now....and so the sun sets on another successful growing season.

For a real education about what is available (and for what) in the 'growing under plastic' world contact GrowersSupply.com They are in Iowa, but their catalog is great to get an idea about what is appropriate for the small gardener or larger grower. If you live in the American East and want to learn about and purchase tunnel and other growing assists, contact Griffin Greenhouse and Nursery Supplies at griffins.com

There are Griffin outlets throughout the northeast. For New York State, they are in Auburn, Brookhaven, and Schenectady and have delivery trucks that cover most of the rest of the state.

Catbird Farm also uses Miller Nurseries in Canandaigua, NY (millernurseries.com) for plants and trees, and Johnny's Selected Seeds of Albion Maine for seeds and growing equipment. Working with Johnny's is an education in organic farming/gardening onto itself. Their seeds are worthy of our north country. And though it is not local to us here in Western NY State, I used to live just down the road from the original Johnny's farm in North Dixmont, Maine so it seems local to me!

We are especially pleased that Johnny's Prizewinner F1 Pumpkin Seeds gave us the winning jumbo pumpkin at our local harvest festival this year without any special fertilizing, pruning, or treatment. Out of one seed packet, 8 giant pumpkins gently emerged out of our squash field. Now that is fun. A great project for a child.

2010-10-01T09:10:00.002-04:00

The Catbird Griddle wishes to thank all it's customers
for a great summer of Farmers' Markets celebrating
local foods and locally made products.

Our seasonal wishes for you are that you set aside your work sometimes
to wander out into our wonderful fall, tolerate the winter
'storm by storm' (wonderful song sung by Dee Howe Specker
of Wellsville, NY), and plant some seeds when the hopeful earth
thaws again.

DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOUR FOOD COMES FROM?

2010-08-10T13:56:00.007-04:00

If you're eating Catbird Frozen Take Home Dinners, your answer is...
YUP. If not, get down here! We're at the Belmont Farmers' Market
Thursdays 11-5 and the Angelica Farmers' Market Saturdays
10-2. Great dinners for a family of four or one with the absolutely
freshest vegetables from our gardens and meats from
Wilson's Beef Farms.
Soups $3 or 2 for $5.
Dinners $8- $16. Ready to heat and serve.

from gardens without chemical
fertilizers, herbicides or pesticides

black plastic mulch for weed control

This is the pest control team...in repose

early morning loading for the market

Tour de Catbird

2010-07-17T15:57:00.006-04:00

This weekend, the Catbird Farm welcomes Ithaca’s Finger Lakes Cycling Club (http://flcycling.org/) to Angelica via the Balloon Rally. (We call it the Tour de Catbird). At the end of their ride, we’ll be serving tired cyclists Zoe's fabulous lime chicken, broccoli divan, salad, and tart cherry shortcake, and, on Sunday morning, a big Catbird pancake breakfast.

If you spot them coming through, please share the road!

Food Scavenger #3: Cukes and Zukes

2010-07-13T11:22:00.008-04:00

I had planned to write July's food scavenger column about wild black raspberries, river mint, and pineapple weed (western NY's version of chamomile)--all currently ripe on roadsides and sun-dappled riverbanks all around us. But then I realized I was off-track. While these foods are ostensibly cost-free, raspberry brambles aren't exactly great for those summertime legs, and the herbs don't exactly feed the family.

So the plan has changed.

If you're scavenging for food this month in western NY, your best bet isn't the woods or roadside ditches, it's the pickup loaded with bushel baskets jutting out of a driveway or the farmstand with a handmade sign out front:

CUCUMBERS, 25¢
ZUCCHINIS, 5 for $1

That's right: the garden glut is upon farmers and backyard gardeners across this land and if you're looking for cheap, healthy food in substantial quantities, you can find it without getting thorny or dirty or bitten by mosquitoes.

Of course, if you happen to be one of those people whose garden is suddenly overrun with oblong crops threatening to morph into full-sized baseball bats overnight, you are rolling your eyes right now. Last night, like me, you ate summer squash improv #212 (herbed zephyr squash crepes, in my case: grated onion and squash, garlic, olive oil and thyme sauteed and wrapped with a pinch of parmesan cheese in a simple chive crepe that is easier to prep than a pancake), and you have zucchini bread in the oven as you read this (Ithaca's Moosewood's recipe is our favorite).

But if you are reading this and you aren't staggering under such bounty, you can easily share in the wealth. Here are a few quick, super-easy, inexpensive recipes to help you serve up the fresh, healthful food you've scrounged for almost nothing.

Zucchini Pan "Pizza" (kids will fall for this--or ours did anyway)

Olive oil
Zucchinis and/or summer squash sliced in 1/4 inch rounds (enough to cover your pan with two layers)
Cheese (parmesan or cheddar work great)
Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions: In a large frying pan (that has a lid or something you can use to cover it), saute zucchini slices in olive oil until they reach desired tenderness. Sprinkle with salt & pepper. Distribute evenly across the pan, sprinkle with cheese, cover and wait. When the cheese has melted, it's ready to serve hot (put the frying pan right on the table to maintain heat).

Cold Cucumber Soup (we refrigerate this in a juice pitcher and serve it in paper cups at family picnics). You can use any kind of cukes. This year ours are Asian Burpless from Johnny's Selected Seeds.

3-4 large cucumbers, peeled or not (depending on your preference)
2 c. chicken broth (bouillon works fine for this)
2 t. curry powder
salt & pepper to taste
2-3 c. lowfat plain yogurt

Directions: Process cucumbers until smooth in a food processor (do this in batches in you need to). Transfer ground cucumber to a large bowl, unless it still fits in your processor, in which case, you can continue to blend in the processor. Add broth, curry powder, salt & pepper, and yogurt and combine. Chill and serve.

Cucumber-Mint Raita (a cold, refreshing Indian salad often served with spicy foods)

1 small onion finely chopped or grated (approx. 1/4 c.)
2-3 cucumbers chopped (2 c.)
1 bunch mint chopped (maybe 1/4 c.), leaving some aside for garnish
2-3 c. lowfat plain yogurt (Greek yogurt works well here too) stirred until smooth
optional: 2 t. cumin seeds

Directions: Combine all ingredients in a bowl, garnish with mint "confetti," chill.

Garden Gazpacho!

2010-07-08T12:38:00.006-04:00

In Andalusia, Spain, there originated a simple, cold, fresh soup that really can't be topped on a hot summer day. There are as many variations on this soup as there are gardening cooks. Some are work intensive--with cheese cloth and strainers and overnight waits while the freshness of the veggies seeps out into your refrigerator (ugh!). Others have taken on a Mexican flair--with lime juice and avocado garnishes (yum!).

The Catbird Fly-Away Dinners now includes a frozen gazpacho inspired by our good friend Suada, whose patience for mincing exceeds even our passion for the Cuisinart. Around here we've started eating these soups only 2/3 thawed with a glass of cold white wine. Okay, we know: gazpacho slushies are NOT haute cuisine, but after a day bent double picking cukes...well, you understand.

If you decide to try our gazpacho (and really, you should let this one thaw on its own and not in the nuker, as we affectionately call our microwave), you should know that these veggies are all babies: baby cherry tomatoes, baby cucumbers, baby bell peppers. We've left pinky-sized cucumbers whole so you can munch.

If you want to make your own gazpacho, click here for a great 15-minute gazpacho recipe (pictured above) from Sunset Magazine.

Summer's Upon Us!

2010-06-28T14:56:00.004-04:00

Now that the Angelica Farmers' Market has begun, it truly feels like summer has arrived. It was great to see everyone who came out and some new faces too. Thanks to everyone who dropped by the Catbird Griddle for 'cakes or salads or just to say hello.

A Catbird fan enjoying her pancakes with strawberries last Saturday.

Angelica Farmers' Market 2010

2010-06-25T16:22:00.005-04:00

Tomorrow, Saturday, June 26, is the opening day of the Angelica Farmers' Market for Summer 2010 in the historic Park Circle.

The latest forecasts predict a gorgeous morning.

Of course, we'll be under the yellow tent flippin' buckwheat pancakes and dressing them up in strawberries fresh from Schultheis Farms and Jenkins Farms and hot-buttered maple syrup tapped by our neighbor Rob Chamberlain.

We'll also be dishing up buttermilk biscuits with honey-butter alongside our homegrown lunch salads.

Hope we'll see everyone there!

Purple Passion: Provençal lavender fields in Western NY?

2010-06-18T11:34:00.011-04:00

Gardening is often a mutual accommodation of the crop and the gardener. Our lavender plants, just starting to bloom now, remind me of that truth. The genus Lavandula is native from North Africa and the Mediterranean to southwest Asia and India. If we think of domesticated lavender, our strongest association might be with fields blooming under the hot, dry skies of the Provence region of France. In fact, the extensive cultivation of lavender in southern France is fairly recent—only since the 1920s. Over the preceding century, lavender perfumes had been derived from blossoms collected mostly from wild plants. These had rapidly colonized the rocky hills that were just as rapidly being abandoned by French peasants migrating to industrial jobs in the cities.

Lavender in Provence. Photo by Flickr fxp.

So growing lavender in cool, moist western New York, our chief concession was to plant it on our rockiest knoll with a southerly slope. Actually, our friend Hope had started the plants in the comfort of her sun room. In May 2008, we’d transplanted them to our garden, where, despite our pampering, half died over that first year. So in 2009, we transplanted the survivors to the hard rock pile. Our problem was the strips between the rows, which were too rough to be tamed by any lawnmower blade. Our solution was to cultivate with tractor and disk. But even as we picked the largest stones after each cultivation, the next pass of the disk would levitate another crop of rocks. And the taproots of dock and burdock wedged themselves among the stones, where even the disk could not dislodge them. Hoeing and hand-pulling were our unenviable options, and were effective only after the rocks had been lubricated by a good rainfall.

Young NY lavender plants.

Our weedy, stony lavender plot is rarely photogenic. But after our recent rains, we’ve cleared two thirds of the plot of almost all of its weeds. We proudly present a carefully-cropped view of lavender in early bloom. In the foreground is the lavandin (“French lavender”) variety, Dilly-Dilly. The upper part of the row is the hardy “English lavender” variety, Munstead. Our efforts are repaid with a sprig of fresh lavender in our lemonade, as we rest our weary backs. And contemplate a lavender-rosemary-apricot glaze on chicken breasts—for dinner.

Wild Food Scavenger Hunt for June

2010-06-03T13:26:00.007-04:00

Eating local food doesn't always mean going to a farmers' market or growing your own. Forget clipping coupons if you want to save a few bucks on food: amazing and abundant wild food grows all around us. Even a roadside weed can prove to be a real (super cheap!) treat.

Last month we wrote about wild leeks, or ramps, but June has its own specialties. Here are two wonderful finds for food scavengers in Western New York, along with tips on how to enjoy them.

I. Lambsquarters

A big favorite back during the Great Depression (coincidentally), lambsquarters grow everywhere all summer in Upstate New York. Look for them generously volunteering themselves right in your own garden. While most of us yank lambsquarters out, its milky green leaves, picked young (June is their best month) it can be sweeter and more delicious than its cousin spinach. Rumor has it that it's also more nutritious than spinach.

To prepare lambsquarters as a green side for grilled steak or roasted chicken, try lightly steaming (as you would cook spinach), and then serving with a little butter, or saute in olive oil and garlic. Alternatively, you can use it as a substitute for spinach or Swiss chard in a soup, lasagna, herbed pasta (such as pesto), or casserole. You can also try them raw and use them in a green salad.

II. Black Locust Blossoms

(Black Locust photo by red.raleigh on Flickr)

It is a special time in late spring--not yet, but any day now!--when the black locusts bloom. You know the smell--you've only just started to drive your car with the windows open and then you drive through a pocket of sweet air and you know summer's coming soon.

The black locust isn't much to look at most of the year, but when it's in bloom it is covered with heavy clusters of sweet white blossoms. And the great news is that not only are these blossoms edible, they are heavenly to eat. The bad news is that the window for locust blossoms is narrow. When you see them, pick them! The brighter the yellow is on the white petals, the better the blossoms are to eat (older blossoms tend to be bitter).

There are many ways to eat locust blossoms (as a garnish on fruit or green salads, for example, or, if you're really inspired, homemade locust blossom ice cream is pure manna), but the best known and most marvelous is the locust blossom fritter. To prepare this, make pancake batter in your usual fashion, a bit on the thin side and then dip sprigs of blossom into the batter and drop them on your hot griddle. Cook just as you would pancakes and serve with maple syrup, honey, or a sprinkle of powdered sugar.

Our Great Gardening Experiment 2010

2010-05-19T16:14:00.008-04:00

Be sure to check out the June copy of Angelica's Booster News for the article about our growing tunnels. As of today, May 29, we have 15 cherry tomato plants with full sized tomatoes on them in those tunnels. We're gunning for homegrown cherry tomatoes in our salads the first day of the Angelica Farmers' Market June 26th. Norman Randall raised our Sweet Olive tomatoes from seed. They are trying really hard to be the first ripe tomatoes on the block. Will they make it? Stay tuned.

The good news for gardeners is that Upstate New York's fertile soil, steady moisture, and relatively stable temperature make for great produce, in spite of its short growing season. Anyone who has ever flown over the Texas Panhandle, for example, knows just how lucky we are. Who could have thought, back in the 1910s when the southern Plains States were homesteaded, that they would ultimately grow their crops only in circles?

While severe drought and extreme heat are rare for growers around here, late Spring frosts sure are reliable. This year, since we're hoping to have salad produce as early as we can get it for our new salad bowl lunches, we are experimenting with growing tunnels.

Rather than “high tunnels,” which are expensive to buy and difficult to relocate, or “low tunnels,” which require a lot of stoop work, we’ve opted for “caterpillar tunnels” of intermediate size. To construct these, we drove rebar stakes in the ground at 6-foot intervals, in two rows 12 feet apart. To form each support arch, we joined two 10’ sections of PVC conduit and slid the ends over the rebar stakes. We then connected the series of arches with a rope purline, secured at either end to a heavy stake. Then a 24-foot-wide sheet of greenhouse plastic was draped over the arches and purline. Between each pair of arches, a rope was strung across the plastic sheet (and secured to stakes on either side). The excess two feet of plastic on either side is secured with rocks. That last step might be difficult in Iowa, but rocks are always close at hand on our “gravel ground.”

In part, we were attracted to tunnels to protect tomato plants from the rain of spores of Phytophthora infestans, which infected all of last year’s tomato plants with “late blight.” But shielding plants from the rain also necessitates irrigation. So down each side of our tunnel, we installed a drip irrigation tube, with 0.5GPH “emitters” at 18” intervals. We transplanted tomatoes at three-foot spacings, interspersed with pepper and basil plants.

Our tunnel isn't heated, but it provides a little insulation against frosts. Not enough, as it turned out. About a quarter of the tomato plants froze, and all the rest of the plants looked pretty shocked by one frost. On a couple subsequent cold nights, we covered plants with buckets or sheets of floating row cover. Another challenge is overheating. While nighttime temperatures in the tunnel are only a few degrees above ambient, daytime temperatures inside can quickly gain a dozen degrees. So we monitor tunnel temperatures frequently, and adjust by rolling up one or both sides. Stepladders and duct tape play supporting roles.

The Arctic Blast that greeted the Griddle’s opening day almost metamorphosed our caterpillar tunnel into a flying beast. We returned from town to see the plastic cover billowing wildly, and even the plastic arches flexing for flight. We used extra lengths of PVC conduit and lots of duct tape to reinforce some of the arches. Then, adding more rocks along the edges, we managed to secure the tunnel to the ground. However, that experience convinced us that our next model should have more rigid support arches. Therefore, Caterpillar II was constructed with arches of 1” galvanized steel conduit, instead of flexible plastic. To bend the conduit, we built a jig, which incorporated some of the sliding door track that had been dismantled from the front of our garage-turned-Catbird Kitchen. While many materials languish for years in the barn, awaiting a new occupation, this door track was recycled in mere months! So we (some of us) feel justified in the many buckets of old parts with which we share our space.

Here are some pictures of the tunnels so you can see just what we're talking about.

SETTING UP

VENTILATING (TOO HOT!)

AFTER HIGH WINDS

Buffalo News Farmers' Market Guide

2010-05-12T13:42:00.005-04:00

The Buffalo News has issued its 2010 Farmers' Market Guide for Western New York by News Food Writer Andrew Z. Galarneau. The Catbird Griddle and the Angelica Farmers' Market are the lead story to the Guide.

Here's an excerpt:

....At the Angelica Farmers' Market in Allegany County, regulars have another motive: buckwheat pancakes and extra-thick bacon.

"Every Saturday, an hour before the market opens, we start cooking bacon in the middle of Park Circle in downtown Angelica," said Lucia Beer, who runs Catbird Griddle with her husband Sam. When the crowd has been whipped into a frenzy of hunger, they unleash the pancakes.

The Beers started selling buckwheat pancakes with hot buttered maple syrup, a scoop of fresh fruit and whipped cream at the Saturday market last year. They sold like — well, let Beer, a registered nurse with a passion for locally sourced food, tell it: "We thought we'd sell $100 worth," she said. "We sold $500 worth."

Click here to read the rest of the article and check out the guide to literally DOZENS of farmers' markets around Western New York. And a big thank you to the Buffalo News for helping to support local food and local businesses.

Arctic Blast

2010-05-09T08:12:00.006-04:00

Saturday was our first pancake flippin' day of the 2010 season and it was exciting. First of all, it was our first time serving rhubarb as our seasonal fruit of the day. And if that wasn't thrilling enough, there was that unpredictable Upstate New York weather to contend with. In spite of about 100 lbs of weights on our canopy, two of us and a customer had to grab the Big Yellow and hold her down at one point. In any case, it was great to see all of you who endured the elements for Main Street in (mighty, flighty) May, and thanks to the Angelica Hose Company who provided tables and chairs.

As a result, the Catbird will NOT be making cakes on Main Street this morning. I know, I know, we said rain, snow, or shine. But the problem today, in addition to snow and rain, is wind. Rather than risk a quick trip off to the Arctic version of Oz, we thought we'll be holding down crop covers on the farm. I can tell you this on Mothers' Day; having a growing tunnel full of fragile plants in snow, high winds, and below freezing nights (28 coming tonight) is something like having an infant around.

Today there is the Mothers' Day Prime Rib dinner at the Angelica Hotel. AND if you have not yet seen the Angelica Players production of Accidental Clarity, it is a must see. There's a matinee today at 3. They packed the house last night to standing ovation.

The Catbird Griddle will be out again next Saturday, May 15th, when Angelica has its huge, village-wide Lawn Sale Day. Everything you could possibly want or imagine and then some will be for sale on the street all over town that day. And this includes pancakes, hot-buttered maple syrup and sweet rhubarb sauce, again in front of Delectable Collectibles, West Main Street.

Happy Mothers' Day all!

Grown in Genesee Valley Dirt

2010-05-04T14:08:00.010-04:00

I just picked up our seedlings from our local supplier including 4 types of tomatoes, peppers, broccoli, brussel sprouts, eggplant, and cilantro and they are fabulous. These pretty little babies sprouted in Genesee Valley dirt supercharged with nothing more than cow manure.

Western New York has a relatively short growing season, so greenhouse seedlings make a big difference in terms of maximizing harvests. We source our seedlings locally because it means we get safer, healthier plants. Our supplier uses the manure from his 4th generation Guernseys to fertilize his grown-from-seed plants--talk about knowing where your food comes from! He isn't bringing soil or potted plants onto his farm that might contaminate his stock with the pests and disease that frequently travel on plants grown in commercial greenhouses.

Remember that late blight that devastated tomato crops last summer and forced prices through the roof? It was eventually traced to a single nursery in Alabama that distributed infected seedlings to stores (Wal-Mart, Lowe's, and Kmart among them) up and down the East Coast.

It's best to start your own seeds in a kitchen window, but if space or time prohibits this, then there are many reasons to shop locally for seedlings (at one of our farmers' markets, for example!). Local growers have a stake in selling truly healthy plants, and their good names to maintain. Anonymous mega-suppliers simply don't.

Meet the Catbird Staff #1

2010-05-02T16:07:00.010-04:00

Over the next couple weeks we'll be introducing the Catbird Staff--official, human, and otherwise--for Summer 2010.

The first to arrive for active duty is our garden security specialist, Sergeant L. E. (Ellie) Dog. L.E. is the Catbird bird dog, a German shorthaired pointer. Right now you're thinking, bird dogs are hunters, not guard dogs! Well, no. L.E. is a rescue dog, ditched when her former owner discovered she was terrified of gunfire. L.E. prefers "quiet hunting": Stealth. Tracking. Patrolling perimeters. Tiptoeing towards titmice and pouncing on pigeons--which she has yet to actually catch. This makes her a great garden guard dog.
L.E. is perpetually on guard for those moles, mice, bunnies, chipmunks, and woodchucks who know a good thing when they see it and would very much like to sample the Catbird's sprouting salad greens. This bird dog keeps busy from sunup until someone makes her go to bed, every day except Saturdays, when the Rod and Gun Club hosts its weekly skeet shoot nearby. Then L.E. ducks for cover, under a bed or up on a forbidden couch.
One thing's for sure, for a dog who likes quiet, L.E. sure snores loudly.

Seeking Parsnips and Convection Ovens

2010-04-28T08:27:00.008-04:00

What a luxuriant full moonrise last night, the Seed Moon, according to Native Americans. Did anyone fall in love last night? Maybe all over again? And now this morning the crab apple blossoms and everything else are on the brink of bursting into bloom and I'm headed off in search of a wheel of good cheese and maybe someone selling parsnips.

A good day. And I do love spring parsnips, which are left in the ground all winter to get their best flavor and sweetness.

On a more technical note, we are equipping our new Catbird Kitchen--another masterpiece by Mr. Dave Aylor, and we are looking for a few items, preferably second-hand: a 6 burner commercial gas stove, a floor model convection oven with 6 or so shelves, a stand-up freezer or two, not too old, a fridge, and a floor model mixer.

If you happen to be or know someone who has some of these things not too far away from Allegany County, we'd love a lead.

First Taste of Spring

2010-04-26T16:45:00.004-04:00

Tulips are in bloom, a slow rain is falling, the forest floor is sprouting wild leeks, and the Catbird has one hundred hills of potatoes planted.

So, yes, we're cooking up that old favorite, Potato-Leek Soup. But we're also trying out some new ways to use food from close to home: tonight we're experimenting with ramp (wild leek) pesto, a recipe from Bon Appétit magazine online.

Lunch Comes to the Catbird

2010-04-15T14:58:00.005-04:00

Hello local food lovers! The growing season begins just after tax day (assuming we finish our taxes on time). Then the rototiller comes out for a greasing, the growing tunnels go up and hopefully stay up, the early seeds go in the ground, and we begin crossing our fingers against frosts as if they were IRS audits.

This is also the time of year when we at the Catbird Farm begin to salivate just thinking about juicy, vine-ripe tomatoes, about sweet baby green beans, about carrots right out of the rich earth that has awed visitors to Western New York's hills for centuries.

If you feel the same way, then this should really bring an ache to your tastebuds: this year, the Catbird Griddle will be diversifying. Yes, we will still be serving up our amazing buckwheat pancakes, fruit, and Wilson Beef Farms' mouthwatering bacon every Saturday in Angelica, but we are also adding to our menu FRESH, LOCAL SALADS made from our own organically grown Angelica produce, served with a slab of homemade herbed baguette. You can indulge in this summery treat in Angelica every Saturday (10-2, opens June 26), or on Thursdays at the Belmont Farmers' Market (11-5, opens May 27).

We are sprouting ideas every day, so stay tuned for more delicious news from the Catbird!

The Catbird to Fly

2010-04-14T23:16:00.004-04:00

This winter, the Catbird has NOT been hibernating. Instead of flipping great buckwheat pancakes, we've been cooking up new plans for the coming summer and building a *real* kitchen to keep on cooking in.

This summer, at the Angelica and Belmont Farmers' Markets, the Catbird brings you meals on the fly -- delicious, healthful local food cooked up (and frozen) for your family in our kitchen.

When you're too busy to cook, or shop, or even think about cooking or shopping, the Catbird comes through. Forget the takeout that forces you to take out your belt, or food flown in from who-knows-where and made of who-knows-what, this is homegrown, homemade, healthy fare that is ready to heat-and-eat.

So, dig in!

First Seeds...

2010-04-14T21:08:00.000-04:00

The Catbird Griddle blog will keep you up to date on our pancake and local food happenings in and around Angelica, NY. So stay tuned!